Court jails four Boko Haram suppliers as FG begins trial of 500 terrorism suspects

The Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted and sentenced four individuals to various prison terms for supplying items to Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State.

The convicted persons are Shehu Bukar, Hamzat Yahuza, Hamatu Modu, and Isah Ali.

Bukar, a father of three, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for selling goats to Boko Haram insurgents.

Although he initially pleaded not guilty to four of the five charges filed against him by the federal government, the prosecution later withdrew those counts, leaving one charge to which he pleaded guilty.

Justice Binta Nyako, who presided over the case, handed down the 20-year sentence after rejecting Bukar’s plea for leniency.

In a separate ruling, Yahuza, a father of six, received a seven-year prison sentence for supplying Indian hemp and cigarettes to the insurgents. He pleaded guilty to charges of aiding and abetting terrorism and appealed for mercy, admitting he supplied illicit drugs to fighters operating in parts of Monguno Local Government Area.

The court ordered that Yahuza’s sentence should take effect from the date of his arrest and detention.

Modu was also convicted and sentenced after admitting to supplying food items and intelligence to the terrorists. He received 40 years in prison, 10 years on each of four counts—to run concurrently, meaning he will serve 10 years.

Ali, another supplier of food to Boko Haram, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, with the three years already spent in detention to be deducted from his term.

Justice Nyako further directed that all the convicts undergo rehabilitation and deradicalisation programmes after completing their sentences.

Other judges who handled related terrorism cases include Emeka Nwite, Musa Liman, Akpan Ekerete, and Mobolaji Olajuwon.

The federal government was represented by Lateef Fagbemi, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, alongside Rotimi Oyedepo, Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation. The defendants were represented by lawyers from the National Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, led by its Director-General, Aliyu Abubakar.

The trial is expected to continue on Wednesday.

Speaking after the proceedings, Fagbemi announced that phase 9 of the mass trial of terrorism suspects has commenced.

He disclosed that over 500 suspects are expected to be tried in the current phase, which is scheduled to run until Friday or Saturday.

“It is our hope that of these 500, we will be able to go very far,” he said.

“We thank all the critical stakeholders for considering service to the nation first and forgoing the Easter vacation to be here.

“Due to logistics problems, it was not convenient to go to Kainji. We have more courtrooms here, as well as facilities.

“The same judges would have been ferried to Kainji. To have 10 judges at a time handling the cases means a lot to us.

“We have enablement in terms of law to sit here, and that is why we are sitting here.

“It is not a secret trial. We are here in the open, where confessions were made and proofs given in the public glare.”